Ruben’s Mexican Cafe

I went to Rubens for the first time the other night, it’s located conveniently right in the heart of Peekskill. I can’t comment on the food because I was just here for dancing while my girlfriends were drinking but it was fun! Great music (even the people sitting in their seats were moving around), friendly bartenders, and awesome vibe. The owner was nice as well and even the bouncer is willing to crack a smile and a joke, if you’re looking for a local place to dance and have a beer then this is the place to go!

I had to log on to dispel the negative reviews I’ve seen on here. Went to Ruben’s last night for a friends birthday and could not have had a better time. All 10 people at the table enjoyed their food very much. I had chicken fajitas and they were excellent. The sea food dishes all looked fantastic. The margaritas were excellent and they even gave us some homemade tequila on the house. Had a great time and can’t wait to come back again for more.

For those eating in the restaurant today, they were provided prompt service even for more complicated orders. Unfortunately, that was not the case for our take-​out lunch order. We placed an order around 12:00. We were told our food would be ready in 15 – 20 minutes so we arrived at 12:20 to pick up our food. 12:30… 12:45… 1:00 went by without receiving our food. One server rudely asked if we had even bothered to call in our order (we had.) We watched as parties were seated, orders taken, and their meals served. After about 30 minutes of waiting (50 minutes after ordering) the bartender finally went to the back to the kitchen to inquire about where our very small and simple orders were. (Chicken fajita and chicken tacos with one order of guacamole.) Then after another 30 minutes, our food finally arrived. No discount was provided, no items were comped, no apology during the hour wait inside the restaurant for telling us the food would be ready in 15 minutes and it ultimately taking an hour and a half while the other patrons continued to be served. After paying in full, the bartender said simply, «sorry for the wait.»
One star for decent food, but it doesn’t look like our family will continue giving money to a restaurant who doesn’t want to keep its customers.
*This was Cinco de Mayo but the restaurant was not busy, only a few tables were filled and the tables appeared to have normal service.

2+
Ruben’s is hit or miss. I’ve been here a couple times and was not impressed. Very inconsistent.
The drinks are good but pricey. The entrees are good sized but most of the food is bland and tasteless. The rice and beans are a joke.
The enchiladas were inedible. However, the steak dishes can be good. I wouldn’t recommend anything specifically because you just don’t know how it’s going to be. I probably won’t be back.

The food never disappoints and the margaritas are awesome! The staff is always friendly and accommodating, so we always have a great time. We’ve been there on our own on date night, other times with family and everyone has always been beyond satisfied with their food. The prices are also reasonable and they are consistent with their menu, although they sometimes offer specials (which is always a plus).

Read some negative reviews on Unilocal,but could not disagree more. Have been loving Rubens for years. I often judge restaurants by their seafood, which has to be carefully prepared and theirs is reliably excellent. Try the shrimp quesadillas. Their not on the menu but they will make them if you ask and they are terrific. Also recommend the Snapper Veracruz which is fresh tasty and seasoned nicely. Blackened Salmon fajitas also on our frequent list. Anyplace can make rice and beans, but finer food is why I like Rubens.

Excellent chimichanga and chicken soup is fantastic. Good drinks and great service. Always enjoy the food, especially Rubens paella!

I used to love Rubens but it’s changed. Staff really isn’t that friendly and the food is good but not kickass great like it used to be. Not a bad choice, but don’t expect a warm embrace when you walk in the door.

We randomly picked this place from all the restaurants on the same street, and were pleased with our choice at the end.
The service was initially slow, but once the orders were placed, the food and drinks kept coming, and everything we ordered was good.
At the end of our dinner we could see the place transform into a Latin dance club. A DJ table was set up in the corner, dinner tables were moved to open up the floor for some dancing later on, and some fancy lights came on.
The place had its own quirky personality. Appeared to be a no nonsense restaurant that did a little bit of everything for everyone. Served good food & drinks, and picked it up at the end of the night for loyal customers who maybe making this place their usual stop on the weekends.

The WORSE food I ever had. First of all, they took 45 minutes to bring the food to the table, knowing that we had 4 kids to feed. The restaurant wasn’t even that busy. The food was tasteless and cold. Please don’t ever order the chicken tacos from the kids menu, the chicken was over cooked and dry. The salads were lacking some of the ingredients mentioned on the menu: «abundant avocado», it had none, and the cheese was missing from one of the orders. The burrito, AYYY DIOS MIO!!! no salt, no taste of anything really. The service was just not there, at one point our waitress went missing. Another unfortunate restaurant that lacks the basics in Peekskill unfortunately :(.

Good food good atmosphere. Would go here again! Nice little spot in Peekskill. The taco salad is just a a salad with some chicken, tomatoes, sour cream, all in a fried taco shell. It’s pretty good but so simple. My husband had the shrimp, chicken, and steak quesadilla. He was beyond in love with it. The owner was so nice. It was my friends birthday so they gave us free tequila shots and a nice cheesecake. I would go here again.

Food is always great however the staff is always a tad slow. Margaritas are great too!

Maybe I shouldn’t have ordered a goat cheese and pear salad at a Mexican restaurant, but there was almost no goat cheese or pear — see photo (I hadn’t started eating yet!). Wife got the basic 3 beef tacos but the meat tasted unseasoned, just like cooked chop meat. Service and food delivery also quite slow. It did look like they put a good amount of effort into the décor/​bar, and nothing was actually bad tasting.

Our favorite go to Mexican place. Very friendly staff and nice atmosphere. On Wednesdays they have $ 5 Margaritas. (Which are absolutely delicious). The
Guacamole is fresh and made table side. The tacos are our favorite.
They do need to improve on their salsa and I wish they had a larger selection of tacos.

I wasn’t going to write a review but there’s so many unexpected bad ones I just had to. Everyone Loves Rubens. I don’t know what those bad reviewers are talking about. Learn the proper way to order a margarita the way you like it, enjoy the amazing and free house made chips n salsa and chillllllll.

Great Mexican food here. The blackened chicken fajitas are great. The paella is also good. Tequila shrimp very tasty. Try the flan for dessert delicious. The drinks are good too.

Horrible! Horrible! So the servers have no idea what the hell they are doing! The prices are all messed up they want to charge $ 15 for a small sized HOUSE margarita yet they had don Julio margarita for 10 $ when I questioned this our server had no idea he said and i quote «idk thats how they made the menu» w. e so i switched to a sangria which tasted like flavored water and my fiancé had a heineken which came out warm so we didnt even bother getting anything to eat because i could only imagine how bad the food will be if simple drinks sucked! Not a good place to go atmosphere is not so good either

I went there for lunch since I work in the area, I ran after 10 minutes. This place is awful, nasty and service is horrible. I found hair in my salsa and even after that my colleague and I decided to wait for our main dish, and what did I find? More HAIR! I called the waiter over without making a scene and simply telling him to remove my plate and not to bring anything else. He joked about the hair in the food and when we told him we were disgusted and leaving, not once he offered an apology.

I would give this place less than one star if possible. The only reason this place is open is because of their night scene. If this place did not turn into a club at night, I see no way how it could remain open.
The reason it is open is most definitely not because of their food. The food is bland and less than mediocre. Tortillas are soggy, taco shells are stale, and the salsa is tasteless and watery. The food is gross! When asked for «spicy», they could not deliver. The food they try to pass off as «Mexican» is a huge disappointment to say the least. I come from an area where there is a variety of delicious Mexican options. Too bad there is no such thing around here. It’s a huge shame because there is nowhere else to go in the area.

Trust the negative reviews, this place is pretty awful. The cheese enchiladas were extremely bland as were the beans and rice this dish came with. I can’t believe they serve this junk! Service was fine but there’s no way I’d be back.